Deadline In SCO-IBM Case Draws Near

The Lindon, Utah-based software company, which in March filed a lawsuit claiming that IBM violated its Unix contract with SCO, has said it intends to revoke IBM's AIX license on June 13 if a settlement hasn't been reached by the end of that day. But many industry observers expect the deadline to pass with little notice by the business community.

SCO alleged that IBM violated its contract by donating some Systems V code to the Linux community. It's unclear how a revocation would affect IBM Business Partners selling and servicing AIX, but many observers say SCO would have to prove it in court before any injunction would be granted.

As the clock winds down, rumors about possible settlement--or a SCO buyout--continue to circulate throughout the high-tech community. Some speculate that IBM might buy SCO simply to get rid of the cost of future litigation. Others say Novell might be a potential suitor. The Provo, Utah-based software vendor recently announced a strategic shift to move its key software platform to Linux and challenged SCO on Unix copyright and patent issues. Still other observers say that AT&T, the original developer of the System V code, might put forth its own intellectual property claim to Unix.

However, as of Friday morning, the indications were that SCO and IBM remain deadlocked in silent disagreement and will battle it out in a courtroom.

On Friday, a SCO spokesman declined to comment on possible talks of settlement. He noted that SCO still intends to revoke IBM's AIX license by the end of the day if a settlement isn't reached and won't release any statement on the matter until Monday morning.

An IBM spokeswoman declined to comment on possible discussions of settlement or the looming deadline. However, she said IBM intends to vigorously fight the lawsuit and will protect its AIX customers and partners.

While the legal case may have exposed some intellectual-property vulnerabilities of the General Public License that governs Linux development, it won't interrupt the flow of business for IBM's Unix channel, solution providers say.

"I don't think that it is having any effect in the short term. Nobody is going to change their plans. IBM is just too big a Goliath to SCO's David," said Marc Maselli, president of Back Bay Technologies, a Needham, Mass.-based solution provider that works with Java and Unix technologies. "[SCO's] slingshot can't reach high enough to get people to stop buying or partnering with IBM. My guess is that SCO will revoke the license, but IBM will not be impacted because the claim will enter legal gridlock."

If an injunction were granted, it would have little impact on IBM's and its partners' business, Maselli added. "AIX is not very important to IBM overall, anyway. WebSphere is running far more on Solaris and Linux than AIX," he said. "Less than 2 percent of our customers run AIX on any of their systems, let alone have it running the bulk of their business."

SCO this week showed some of the Linux code in legal question to a select group of industry analysts and observers, but there is no consensus on the merit of its case against IBM.

Linux Torvalds, the founder of Linux and lead developer of the Linux kernel, said SCO won't let him see the code without signing a nondisclosure agreement, which he has steadfastly refused to do. Microsoft has backed SCO's claim to ownership of the Unix System V intellectual property.

Linux backers say SCO will have an uphill battle convincing any court to enforce an injunction against AIX if IBM's license is revoked.

"It all depends on whether a judge will believe that SCO's claim against IBM has merit," said Evan Leibovitch, vice president of business development at Starnix, a Toronto-based Linux solution provider. "Even if there is duplicate code, SCO has to demonstrate that IBM did [give it to the open-source community]. And Linus Torvalds keeps extremely good records of how every line of Linux kernel code got there."

Others are yawning as the deadline approaches.

"Come Monday, it will be business as usual for IBM, and SCO will be forced to file an injunction," said Douglass Hock, president of Ideal Technology, an Orlando, Fla.-based Linux solution provider. SCO's case is without merit, he said. "If SCO really does have compelling evidence, it behooves them to attempt the injunction to prove they are truly serious."

IBM's AIX customers and partners won't get caught in the legal crossfire, Hock added. "IBM will file a countersuit and put it on a fast track, since IBM provides and supports government systems and other mission-critical infrastructure that depends on AIX," he said. "SCO will have to mobilize significant resources to meet the amount of paper and filings that IBM is capable of throwing its way."